Nitro cold brew coffee on tap

Chilled coffee on tap (nitro cold brew coffee) is cold-steeped coffee infused with nitrogen, served on tap just like beer – with a creamy texture, rich flavour and a characteristic cascading effect. When one of the world's largest coffee producers and distributors announced in 2016 that it was launching coffee on tap, it caused a veritable revolution in the coffee world. The combination of the terms cold brew coffee and nitro coffee brought coffee connoisseurs a delicacy that more and more coffee lovers long to prepare at home as well.

Cold brew coffee – coffee prepared cold

Most of us know coffee primarily as a delicious, invigorating hot drink. Its cold version – iced coffee – has gained great popularity especially in the hot summer season, but its usual preparation consists merely of traditional "brewing" followed by chilling, or of pouring cold water over instant coffee.

What makes the cold brew method exceptional is that the coffee beans go through a process of soaking, steeping or slow dripping with cold water. Coarsely ground coffee beans are soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours, with the container stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator during steeping. After steeping, the coffee sediment is filtered out using a paper filter, a fine sieve or a cloth. The result is a coffee concentrate that is diluted with water or milk – it is most often served chilled with various flavourings, but sometimes also heated.

The process may seem lengthy, but the concentrate keeps in the cold for up to several weeks, so preparing it "in advance" saves you a lot of time. Moreover, devices are now available that can cold-brew larger quantities of coffee under pressure in a short time.

Why prepare coffee cold?

• Tradition! Here this technique has been popular for only a few years, but its history goes back 400 years to Japan, where coffee was traditionally prepared cold – today this procedure is known as the Kyoto method.
• It's sweeter! The coffee beans do not come into contact with hot water, so cold extraction produces fewer bitter compounds – the result is a sweeter taste and a smoother consistency.
• It's stronger! Concentrate prepared the cold way is stronger than coffee prepared hot. Steeping at a lower temperature for 24 hours results in a higher caffeine content than, for example, coffee brewed for 6 minutes at 98 °C. You control the strength by diluting it.
• It's less acidic! The pH of cold and hot coffee is similar, but cold coffee has a lower titratable acid concentration. If espresso or drip coffee irritates your stomach, cold brew will be a suitable alternative thanks to its lower acidity. And if you can't give up hot coffee, dilute the concentrate with hot water – the chemical composition does not change and the taste remains.
• It's accessible! You need no electricity or special equipment to prepare it. The strong home-made concentrate is diluted into finished coffee, which makes it suitable for longer journeys too.

Nitro coffee – coffee on tap

Coffee on tap, or nitro – chilled draught coffee, brings a revolutionary way of preparing iced coffee infused with nitrogen. It is cold-prepared coffee that is dispensed with a propellant gas in the same way as traditional draught beer. However, only nitrogen is used for infusion, not CO2, which is used for beer and does not have a favourable effect on the taste of coffee. A mixed beer gas can also be a suitable alternative for infusion.

The taste and texture of nitrogen-infused coffee is indescribable. Nitrogen, in combination with a special dispensing tap, creates microbubbles in the glass and gives the drink a rich, creamy consistency similar to draught beer – like the world-famous Guinness, for example. The result is a beautiful dark drink with an amber-golden head and a magnificent cascading effect. Nitrogen also eliminates the slightly sour undertone of brewed coffee, making the taste fuller and sweeter even without added sugar. Once the cascading effect has settled, a characteristic foam cap remains on top of the drink – much like a well-poured beer.

Is nitro coffee healthy?

Nitro draught coffee – provided it is prepared only from coffee and water – is in most cases considered a calorie-free drink. Nitrogen makes up about 78% of our atmosphere, so it is an element we all "consume" every day.

Chilled coffee on tap contains more caffeine than regular coffee, and in many gyms and fitness centres it is already starting to replace unhealthy energy drinks. Caffeine intake increases attention and alertness, and can help speed up the metabolism, boost athletic performance and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. A non-alcoholic caffeinated drink before training that also tastes great and adds no calories? Why not?

Coffee on tap at home or in the office

Perhaps you tried nitro coffee in a small café and fell in love with it. Preparing it at home is easier than you think! Take a look at our coffee dispensing set and MINI KEG kegs with a dispensing set, which are ideal for preparing nitro cold brew. This solution is suitable for professional dispensing in cafés as well as for the home.

Preparation in smaller volumes is advantageous for catering, weddings, parties, the office, camping, hiking, picnics, barbecues or other outdoor activities with friends and family. You will find the complete range in the chilled beverage preparation category.